Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

With fears growing that this year's French Open could turn into a procession, Novak Djokovic issued a warning on Saturday that Rafael Nadal may not have things all his own way in Paris.

Djokovic was ultimately outlasted in a pulsating Italian Open semi-final 7-6, 6-3, but after two years of struggle - and more than 12 months since he had faced a member of the "Big Four" - he at last looked like rediscovering his best form in what was a 51st meeting against his old rival Nadal.

During a bruising first set that lasted 73 minutes Djokovic fired winners off both wings that drew gasps from the Foro Italico crowd as even Nadal was made to look pedestrian at times by his opponent's swiftness around the court.

The problem for Djokovic was that his high level irritated a snarling Nadal into playing arguably his best tennis of 2018. After weeks of straightforward victories, the raucous Roman crowd was thrilled by Nadal being forced to produce the sort of ruthless big-hitting that makes him almost unbeatable on this surface.

After losing the first set on a tie-break, Djokovic faded in the second as Nadal advanced to Sunday's final against German rising star Alexander Zverev. A win for Nadal would see him reclaim the world No 1 ranking from the absent Roger Federer.

Djokovic produced a brilliant performance in the first set Credit:
Getty Images

Djokovic for his part will drop out of the world's top 20 for the first time since 2006 on Monday, but he will surely clamber back up the rankings ladder with more displays like this.

“I can only take positives from this week," said Djokovic, who was playing his first semi-final since June. "I didn't really expect anything coming into this tournament, when it comes to results, because I didn't have many great results in the last period. I'm pleased with how I've played [in the] past three days, very pleased.

“I don't think that there was too much of a difference [between us], which is great news for me. Rafa is, of course, the best player ever to play tennis on clay-courts and he's in great, great form. It's very difficult to play him on clay anywhere.

“I've never faced this kind of situation before. So I thought that it's not going to take me long to get back to winning ways…I [have] had to learn a lesson and accept the circumstances. But, looking back two or three months, this is the best that I've felt on the court, by far."

Nadal is a win away from reclaiming the world No 1 spot Credit:
AFP

Nadal was pleased with his performance, and said the win would give him "good confidence".

Elsewhere at the Foro Italico on Saturday, Jamie Murray and partner Bruno Soares lost their men's doubles semi-final 7-6, 3-6, 10-8 to the Colombian pair Juan Sebastian Farah and Robert Farah.

Despite the disappointment, it was a positive week for Murray and Soares, who won consecutive matches for the first time since early March.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova's impressive run ended in the semi-finals with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 defeat to world No 1 Simona Halep.